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I read this book roughly 4 years ago, and got it from a library. The sequel was actually about to come out when I had finished the book, but I never got to read it.
I don't think it was old enough to be made in the 90's. I remember thinking it was quite new, not a "classic" yet so I didn't expect much of it. The story felt Wizard of Oz-esque.

The girl, I believe her name was similar to Alice (maybe a spelling variation) was living in this type of small, electronic home. The robot maid took care of her, but she really wanted to leave to the outside world and try to find other humans. I think what happened was an alien creature came and tried to raid their hut, and possibly damaged the robot. She ended up leaving with the robot after that with an alien companion. The alien was akin to the Gungans from Star Wars, though that could solely just be my memory and how I imagined them.

The main points I remember is that the robot gives her a chip in her throat to speak to aliens (technology!), but she needed to be in close proximity to the robot for it to work. She thought the robot died, and she couldn't understand anyone after that, but then all of a sudden she started to understand people again and the robot returned!
Also she carried around a slip of paper that was slightly burnt and illegible save for a few letters, and at the end, she reaches a library that had the same paper on a book that was The Wizard of Oz (or some variation of it) even though the entire time I thought it was going to be Alice in Wonderland.

The sequel, from the snippet at the end, was about a colorfully haired human boy coming from the sky to "return her to her people".

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  • Hi, and welcome! Do you recall why the aliens made you think of Gungans? Was it described as having floppy ears or being moronic? Or was it more or less just a random way of imagining it?
    – Vanguard3000
    Commented Aug 22, 2018 at 13:13
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    I think they were described as lanky and long-jawed. There were pictures strewn into the pages every so often and I THINK they looked mildly similar as well. Sorry I don't remember them very well- I didn't care for them that much lol. And thank you!
    – Vii
    Commented Aug 22, 2018 at 13:28
  • hmmm, I read this, and relatively recently. It's a recent children's novel. I think the title of it alludes to the book.
    – Chris Sunami
    Commented Aug 22, 2018 at 18:54

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The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi

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Eva Nine had never seen the actual sun before, or walked outdoors. In fact, she had never even seen another living person in all twelve years of her life. That changes when a marauding huntsman destroys her underground home and sends her fleeing for her life. She is desperate to find someone else who is like her, and a single clue gives her hope: a crumbling picture of a girl, a robot, an adult, and the word "WondLa".

Matches:

Timeframe: published in 2010
Small, electronic home: "underground Sanctuary"
Robot maid: "Muthr"
Slip of Paper = Wizard of Oz: YES
Alien companion: YES
Human boy comes to take her home at the end: YES

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  • Thank you so much, kind stranger.
    – Vii
    Commented Aug 22, 2018 at 22:26

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